Enterprise Service Management and Other Key IT Skills for the Year to Come
If you’re reading this article, then you most likely already know that IT is a rapidly changing field in which the only real constant is change itself. The skills that you need to stay on top of or ahead of the game as an ITSM professional are growing exponentially as this constant change continues, driven by market forces, the consumerization of technology, and the ongoing digitization of, well... everything imaginable. Staying ahead or abreast of new technologies and industry trends like cloud data center management, machine learning, and enterprise service management may never have been easier than it is today. Here is an abridged list of the essential IT skills you will need to possess in order to be a savvy IT professional in 2019.1 - Employee Service Management
As we’ve discussed in other blog posts, one of the greatest changes coming to the world of ITSM is actually happening outside IT, as companies are bringing ITSM principles, practices, and processes to bear on teams and systems across their organization in the form of ESM. Employee service management, as it’s called, aims to create a single platform that serves any and all employee needs. While you’re used to providing an exceptional level of service for your customers, ESM requires you to turn your attention inward, treating your employees as your best customers. By driving DevOps, Agile, and Lean principles to processes and issues across teams, companies are now applying IT skills through customer experience and employee service management models. According to HDI research, 56% of organization already use ITSM tools outside of IT, so you can expect this employee-focused trend to grow over the next year as companies work towards creating a single service platform for their employees.2 - Machine Learning, Automation, and AI
In order to scale your business more efficiently, the adoption of AI will play a critical role in cost reduction as well as helping you make more informed decisions. Automation, the augmenting of service through the use of artificial intelligence, and the application of machine learning to drive ITSM efforts are rapidly becoming a necessity. Using chatbots and other automated processes to drive service levels and user satisfaction is now considered a best practice, regardless of the maturity of your organization. In the year to come, look for this trend to expand, driven by the consumerization of technology and the ongoing digitization of the workplace. By year’s end, many users will expect that their needs will be met by automated processes before they even realize that they have those needs. Anticipation of user needs and advance service driven by automated analytics will become more commonplace in the coming year.3 - Communication and Change Management
Lastly, IT leaders will be called upon even further in 2019 to employ skills that reach beyond traditional IT skills, as organizations look to ITSM for leadership beyond the IT department. The drive to flatten organizations, destroy traditional silos, and align the goals of IT with the goals of the organization as a whole will continue to drive the change you can trace back to the beginnings of ITIL as a concept.Finding Your Feet in the Future
Whether you know it or not (and perhaps whether you like it or not), you are already living in the future. A simple comparison of how ITSM was managed five years ago with the skill set needed to thrive over the last year should be enough to convince even the biggest of skeptics. The IT skills you should focus on in 2019 are likely already being employed by your organization in some capacity. The goal here is to find practical applications for these concepts and efficiently scale them across your organization. While your day to day KPI’s may be sound, these 3 concepts will help you future-proof your business strategy to ensure success in the coming year and beyond. Read the Samanage blog for more of the hottest IT skills & trends to be aware of in 2019!
